Japan's Police Were Rotten to the Core

Fujino's fist hardened, but then he sighed.

Unlike in China, where almost every criminal investigation team at the county level or above has a forensic doctor on staff.

There aren't many formal forensic doctors in Japan; in fact, they're a relatively new phenomenon.

In Japan, most forensic pathologists are either external part-time consultants or people within the Forensic Science Division who have some forensic knowledge.

I won't go into details about the background of the specially appointed person, but I'd guess they're definitely relatives or high-ranking officials in Shizuoka.

Otherwise, without any particularly outstanding achievements, those bastards in the police force would never agree to hire a special consultant.

Moreover, Japan actually only has a little over a hundred officially certified forensic doctors.

That means there are only a little over a hundred forensic doctors out of a population of one or two hundred million.

It would be a miracle if this were any good!

People like Megure usually need help from themselves or the forensic team to determine the cause of death.

I won't go into details about what the Forensic Science Division experts do.

Collecting evidence, conducting on-site investigations—they do all sorts of work, and on top of that, they also have to perform autopsies...

So much so that the detectives commissioned to investigate have to determine the specific cause of death.

Otherwise, why would a detective need medical skills?

This person, who is completely ignorant of medicine, couldn't even figure out how the deceased died.

So why do people commit suicide so easily?

If they can't even analyze the basic, detailed cause of death, what kind of investigation is this?!

It's better to just close the case and avoid further trouble.

Even good people who want to investigate can be misled by the appearance of the murder method due to their lack of professionalism; for example, hanging might be mistaken for suicide by hanging.

All I can say is that the Japan police are rotten to the core.

Fujino cursed the 'forensic doctor' who examined the body for eight generations in his mind, and he had already made some progress in this case.

If the forensic doctor says it was hanging, then this case is indeed a suicide. But if it was strangulation, then it's easier to explain.

Fujino glanced up at the nails on the shelf and the corpse, and mentally reconstructed the scene from that time.

The blood on the ground can also be explained.

"Henggou Police Department!"

Just then, a man in a police uniform rushed in. "The victim's phone has been found!"

Before Yokomizo could respond, Fujino turned around and asked, "Where did you find it?"

The man hesitated for a moment, glanced at Yokogami, and after receiving confirmation, reported, "The phone is inside the victim's blanket. It looks like he was caught in it while he was asleep. The phone is currently low on battery and cannot be turned on, so we cannot check what's inside."

"So that's how it is."

Fujino stroked his chin, his thoughts gradually becoming clearer, and a gleam of stark white light flashed in his glasses.

Yokomizo Sango glanced at the thoughtful detective and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Fujino- kun, do you have any ideas?"

"The tricks of the murder method have been figured out; now it's time to find the killer."

Fujino responded, then stood up, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes. "The identity of the murderer is pretty much confirmed."

"Real?"

Yokomizo Sango taken aback. "Then who exactly is the murderer?"

"Well, that guy will show himself in a bit, I don't know if this idea is right or wrong."

Fujino said something, then looked away and instructed Yokomizo, "Send someone to wait by the phone at the door of the house where they were all."

"I see."

Yokomizo Sango nodded, then beckoned over a subordinate in a police uniform to carry out Fujino's instructions.

"That should work."

As Fujino watched the departing figure, he asked, "Mr. Kikuemon, could I borrow one of those ceramic jars in your warehouse?"

Kikuemon, somewhat puzzled, asked, "What does the pottery jar have to do with this case?"

"It has a great deal to do with it."

Fujino nodded slightly and explained, "I've identified the culprit, but I might have to destroy something, so I wanted to let you know."

"It's alright."

Kikuemon replied without hesitation, "As long as we can find the culprit, you can smash all the ceramic pots in this room without a second thought!"

"The old gentleman is magnanimous."

Fujino sighed, turned around and jumped down to take a narrow-mouthed jar from the top shelf next to the body. "Actually, the method of the murderer in this case was very simple, but we were all fooled by the forensic doctor."

Yokomizo Sango taken aback. "Fooled by the forensic doctor?"

Fujino toyed with the jar in his hand. "That's right, Ms. Masuko Tsuchiya's cause of death was not hanging, but rather her body falling from a height and being strangled by a rope."

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere suddenly became heavy. No one spoke, and they silently looked up at the warehouse. Soon, they spotted the iron nail.

"The place where Ms. Masuko Tsuchiya was should be on that shelf with the nails, and the wound was also caused by that nail."

Fujino looked over and began to reason, "At that time, the murderer took advantage of the darkness to carry her into this warehouse and put her on that shelf. After that, all he had to do was put a rope around her neck, and when she woke up, she would fall over and be hanged."

He paused, then pointed to the bloodstains on the ground and continued, "But before she was hanged, she reacted quickly and grabbed the shelf, buying herself some time. This blood was left at that moment. There are still some bloodstains left on the ground from that time, which, judging from the distance, must have been at least a meter away."

Fujino finished speaking, he looked around at everyone, raised the jar in his hand, and then smashed it down.

"Bang!"

The earthenware jar was broken, and among the shards, a mobile phone was found hidden inside a compartment of the jar.

"Judging from where the phone was found, Ms. Tsuchiya must have had a habit of keeping her phone by her bedside, and the murderer took advantage of this habit..."

Fujino picked up the phone from the ground. "The phone used must be this one. The original pottery jar was replaced, and a compartment was added inside for better concealment. This means that the person's pottery skills are very high. Moreover, the murderer probably set the same ringtone, which means that the person knew the victim very well."

"Afterwards, the murderer only needs to make a phone call at a specific time, and she will naturally hang herself."

He opened his phone and scrolled through the call log, "Coincidentally, there was a call recorded here around six o'clock this morning."

With that, Fujino smiled knowingly and placed his finger on the call button, "So what will happen if we call back now?"

"Ring ring!"

A phone suddenly rang outside the warehouse door.

Everyone turned around and saw that the sound was coming from the building next to the warehouse.

"Police department!"

Just then, a man in a police uniform ran over. "The phone in the hallway next to the living room is ringing!"

"When I called back, it turned out to be the landline phone next to the living room..."

Fujino pondered for a moment, then looked meaningfully at Seto Ryuichi of his three disciples. "I remember you mentioned before that you called the young mistress to confirm whether she had gone out, right?"